


The Princess of Slytherin

by Northern_Lady



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Hurt/Comfort, Murder Mystery, Past Abuse, Severus has friends with benefits, Snape has a daughter, severus gains experience
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:15:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22666867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Lady/pseuds/Northern_Lady
Summary: A story that begins with a young Severus Snape and continues years later when he meets his daughter as one of his students.
Relationships: Severus Snape/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 14





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I for one, think that is possible for Severus to have been with other women and still have loved Lily. It’s not canon, but that’s what happens in this story. His having a daughter will of course have implications on what happens in the rest of the story, making it AU.

Severus sat at Hogsmeade alone. He always went alone. The loneliness was somehow made worse by the words echoing in his mind. 

“It’s true, James Potter is dating Lily Evans. He asked her to the dance and she said yes.” Belatrix Black had told him rather gleefully. She probably hoped that he would ask her to the dance as a result of learning that Lily was taken. Ske only knew he cared for Lily because he had blurted out the truth to her the previous year and had never stopped regretting that mistake. “I know she was your friend Severus but she was never going to go with you. I don’t think she cares for all your brooding. I on the other hand think brooding can be a sign of ambition. I like it. Besides, you could just ask someone else to the dance to make Lily jealous.” 

Severus has brushed off Belatrix suggestion and headed off to Hogsmeade, apparently to brood. No one noticed him sitting alone at his table. A group of Hufflepuffs sat laughing at their own jokes across the room. Three Slytherins sat at a table planning some sort of mischief, no doubt. And a blonde Ravenclaw girl sat alone at her own table not so far from his. 

Severus didn’t care what had brought these other students to Hogsmeade. None of it mattered. None of them mattered. All that mattered was what he was losing. Perhaps, Belatrix made a good point though. Perhaps he should ask out some other girl just to make Lily jealous but Lily would never be envious of someone like Belatrix. No, he would have to win a girl who was kindhearted and intelligent if he hoped to get Lily to notice it. But truthfully, Severus wasn’t sure he could manage a ruse like that for any length of time. Not only would it be cruel to the girl in question, it would be exceedingly boring for him. Most young women were just not very interesting. 

He didn’t notice that the blond Ravenclaw girl had left her seat until she was at his side. “Excuse me Severus, since you’re a year ahead of me in potions class, maybe you can answer a question for me?” She said sweetly, a textbook under her arm. 

“Perhaps,” Severus agreed reluctantly. He knew this girl, or he knew her older brother. Xenophillus Lovegood was easily the strangest student in his entire grade. Severus imagined that Sofia Lovegood must be equally strange. “What is your question?” 

“I was wondering, if mermaids are suffering from insomnia, can they ingest a sleeping potion? And can water sprites safely use the same sort of sleeping potion or are they too distantly related?” She asked him very seriously. 

Severus stared at her a moment, surprised at the question. “Why would a mermaid have insomnia?” 

“For the same reasons a person would, don’t you think?” She asked him in reply. “If you don’t know the answer to my question, that’s alright. I’ll just tell the mermaid she’ll have to drink it at her own risk. The water sprite will be a problem though… they aren’t so easy to communicate with…” 

“Are you telling me you have befriended a mermaid and a water sprite?” Severus asked, unsure how she had managed this. 

“It’s not so difficult. They are very kind creatures. They’re just misunderstood.” 

“Indeed,” he said dryly, doubting it was that simple. “Well, I do not know the answer to your question. Mermaids are largely unstudied, water sprites even more so. I would be curious to know how they react to your potion.” 

“You could come with me,” Sofia offered. 

Severus raised an eyebrow. Winning over this Ravenclaw to make Lily jealous might not be so difficult. She responded to curiosity and that was a quality he actually possessed. “If it is no trouble?” He agreed. 

***

In the days that followed, Severus spent more and more time with Sofia Lovegood. She was by far the strangest young woman he had ever known, but she was kindhearted, open minded, and she was wise. Not only that, she was also very pretty. If he asked her to the annual dance, it might be enough to stir jealousy in Lily. Belatrix would be angry. Lucious would laugh at him. It wasn’t their reactions that kept him from asking Sofia. It was the fact that in spite of her eccentricity, Severus actually liked her as a person and didn’t want to use her like that. 

He passed Sofia in the hallway the day before the dance and noticed that her eyes were red from recent crying. He made it all the way to the door of his transfiguration classroom before guilt made him turn back and seek out Sofia. She didn’t have a lot of friends and students were as likely to bully her as not. Someone needed to be sure she was alright. 

He found her hidden in an alcove near her History of Magic class. The halls were all but empty and Sofia sat curled up on the floor sobbing. 

“Sofia?” He spoke her name, startling her. “What happened?” 

“Belatrix…” she whispered the name. 

“What did she do to you?” He felt a little sickened at the thought. Belatrix has expressed to him twice that he was spending entirely too much time with Lovegood and that she would no longer be his friend if he kept it up. Severus hadn’t been aware that she considered herself his friend. She had barely spoken to him until the announcement was made that there would be a dance. Lucious had failed to ask her and so she had fallen to pestering him. Now, Belatrix was clearly experiencing some jealousy of her own. 

“She told me something. I don’t know if it’s true…” Sofia sniffled a little and then looked up at him. “She said that you only spend time with me as revenge...because you asked her to the dance and she said no...and that I should expect you to invite me but it won’t be real...it will just be to make her jealous…” 

Severus let out a sigh and he sat down on the floor of the alcove next to her. “That’s not true. I never asked Belatrix to the dance, though I suspect she wanted me to. I had planned to ask someone else and she got a date before I could do it. Belatrix was the one who suggested I invite some other girl to cause jealousy in the girl who already has a date.” 

“And that was me…” she said with realization. “You have been spending time with the weird Ravenclaw to make some other girl jealous?” 

“I never asked you to the dance though did I? If I were going to, I should have done it sooner, to give you time to get a dress. I never asked you because you have become...a friend. I couldn’t do it.” 

“A friend?” 

He nodded. “I don’t have many of those.” 

“Neither do I.” 

“If I had asked you to the dance…?” Severus began, curiosity compelling him. 

“I would have said yes. I probably would have said yes to whatever you asked, no matter the setting. I still would.” 

“I thought we just established that we’re friends, not romantically involved.” He said, a little uncomfortable.

“People can still be friends and be curious about each other,” she said sweetly. “I for one would much rather kiss a friend and just remain friends than to kiss some boy that I’m expected dress up for and impress on dates. It would be so much simpler don’t you think?” 

Severus raised an eyebrow. This was an unexpected turn of events. “You want us to kiss?” 

Sofia blushed a little in response and looked down at her hands. “It might be nice. I wouldn’t know. I’ve never kissed anyone before. I think the only way to learn about some things is to try them.” 

“Indeed,” he agreed, still taken aback. She was a very pretty girl and he couldn’t say he’d ever had a girl make him an offer quite like this. 

“But I don’t want this to make things weird between us Severus. We can just be friends and pretend this never happened. There are just so many things I want to know and I know my curiosity scares people away sometimes. We can forget all this if you prefer.” 

“I’m not sure I do prefer it,” Severus said, “But it would be unfair to do this experiment you speak of when I do still care about someone else.” 

“Unfair to me?”

“Yes, and unfair to her.” 

Sofia shook her head. “That’s what I am trying to tell you. I don’t expect a relationship. You don’t have to take me on dates or even to the dance. I only expect honesty and maybe to learn a little bit about what it’s like…” 

“And yet you were hurt when you thought I had asked Belatrix to the dance?” Severus reminded her. 

“I was hurt when I thought you weren’t being honest with me. That doesn’t alter my curiosity in the least.” 

Severus hesitated only a moment longer and then he leaned closer and he kissed her. Having never kissed a girl before, he hadn’t expected her to feel so soft. He hadn’t expected his body to respond in the way that it did. He only knew that he felt overcome with lustful thoughts that he hadn’t been aware he possessed and he was overcome with guilt for kissing anyone who wasn’t Lily. 

Sofia was the one to finally end the kiss and she did so reluctantly. 

“Was that a thorough enough lesson for you?” Severus voice was husky. 

“No,” she whispered. “I think I would like the next lesson now.” 

“After class,” he told her. “We will, after class.” 

***

Severus has never drank so much alcohol in all his life. What choice did he have but to drink? Lily was dead. There was nothing left to live for. He sat in the muggle bar not so far from his mother’s house and downed another glass. Maybe if he drank enough of them it would stop hurting. 

Severus was largely unaware of the woman who sat down next to him and was just as unaware that he was crying. It wasn’t until her arm came around him that he realized it was Sofia. 

“Severus, you shouldn’t be here,” she told him gently. 

“Where else can I be?” 

“Not here. Come with me?” She ushered him off of his barstool and to a car outside. 

Severus woke some hours later in an unfamiliar bedroom. A tea kettle whistled in the next room and moments later Sofia appeared in the doorway carrying a mug of tea. 

“Where am I?” He asked, despite the pain in his head. 

“My flat in London,” she told him, taking a chair at the bedside and passing him the mug of tea. “Would you believe that I happened to go into the pub for a drink and found you there?” 

“No,” he said dryly. “I would not.” 

“Well, I did. I had a very bad date and needed a drink to forget it. Then I saw that you needed more help than I did.” 

She was right. He did need help. Of all people why did the help have to come from her? He had actively avoided her for nearly two years. It hadn’t been difficult. She was in different classes, lived in a different house. Looking at her now, soft and lovely as ever, he wondered why he had tried so hard to avoid her. He could use a little of her softness about now. Having her close, with her warmth and her curves might help to ease the sting. He set aside the tea and without a word he reached for her arm and pulled her to sit on the bed. She came closer willingly enough, even pulling aside the covers and laying next to him. 

Severus wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. This time he was aware that he was crying but he did so silently so Sofia wouldn’t know. She snaked her hand up between them and brushed away the wetness on his face. 

“Severus?” She said gently. “Whatever you need from me, I am here.” 

After everything, after the way he had avoided and ignored her she was still willing to care for him? “Why?” 

“Because you are grieving and that’s what friends do.” 

He squeezed her a little more firmly and just held on for a good long while. She felt familiar and the familiarity was a comfort. It was only later, when they both lay naked under the covers and breathless that he thought to regret taking comfort in her. 

“I shouldn’t be here,” he told her as she settled next to him. “This was not the way to…” 

“To grieve a woman you loved?” Sofia asked, ever perceptive. “I don’t see why not.” 

“Because it dishonors her.” 

“She was married Sev. You can not honor her by remaining celibate. You’re just feeling guilty because you slept with me while she lived too. You felt like you cheated on her and she never even wanted you anyway.” 

“No, not like you did,” he said accusingly. 

“Grow up Sev. I never tried to use you like Belatrix would have. I was nothing but honest. We were friends having a little fun. Nothing more. You were the one who got emotionally involved.” 

“Did you bring me here to help or to belittle me?” He shot back at her. 

Sofia sighed and turned to face him. “To help you,” She said gently, “Always. I hadn’t meant to make it complicated.” 

“You never do but everything about you is complicated Sofia, it always has been.” 

“I know,” she said sadly. “It doesn’t have to be complicated today. Just stay. Relax. Take whatever time you need.” 

And he pulled her close for the second time and took the comfort she offered.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am aware that this is not my best fanfic. I feel like it was written by my thirteen year old self even though I am 37 years old. It may not be getting kudos but my thirteen year old inner self is having fun writing it so I guess that is what counts.
> 
> Also, don't judge Sofia too harshly. More information about her will come to light to make a little more sense of her.

It was Harry Potter’s second year at Hogworts when the dark haired girl with piercing blue eyes arrived as a first year student. Severus looked at his class roster and saw the name Sara Lovegood and he only registered confusion. Xenophillus had a daughter named Luna who was in this class. Sara Lovegood has to be Sofia’s child but that would mean Sofia had remained unmarried. He had lost touch with her years ago. Who was Sara’s father? She had his dark hair color and she was just the right age…

Severus waited until after class to pull aside Sara and speak with her. She came to his desk looking anxious. No child wanted to be pulled aside by the teacher. 

“Tell me Sara, is your mother Sofia Lovegood?” 

“Yes Sir,” She said, eyes large and worried. 

“And your father?” 

“I don’t know Sir. Mother said he went away a long time ago.” 

“When is your birthday?” 

“May 1st, 1982,” she told him. 

Severus quickly did the calculations in his head. He had last seen Sofia the week that Lily died, and had spent the first few days of August 1981 in her flat. Sofia was not the sort to be monogamous but she was nothing if not truthful. If there had been other men in her life during that time, she would have made no secret of it. 

“And your mother, she still lives in London?” 

Sara nodded. “She said you might have questions for me and if you did to give you this.” Sara took a sealed envelope from her robes and passed it to him. 

“You may go,” Severus told her as he warily took the envelope that the girl held out. 

Severus,

I know what you’re thinking. I know what questions you are asking my daughter. When is your birthday? Who is your father? Where does your mother live? I’ll save you the trouble and tell you the truth right now. 

Sara is your daughter. I kept it from you because I did not want her involved with Death Eaters. When it was just the two of us sharing a bed from time to time, I didn’t care who your friends were. It meant nothing to me. When my child came into the picture I knew I could not let her near such dangerous people as your friends. And so I endeavored to raise her myself. I’m afraid I have not done such a good job of it. I got married. It was a poly marriage and it was a mistake because I got caught up in my work and took a job away from home. Sara’s stepfather has done more to raise her than I did. To make matters worse, I divorced him a year ago when I learned how much drinking he did while I was away at work and how his alcoholism was harmful to Sara. 

I know now that I should have told you. Your death eater friends could not have done as much damage as Rory did. I am sorry Severus. She comes to you a timid and frightened child with very little of the free spirit that I once had. If you wish for Sara to know the truth and to be a part of her life as her father, then send me an owl and I will visit this weekend and make it known to her.  
-Love Sofia

It took Severus a good hour to process what he had read but once he did, he sent the owl to Sofia. 

He never saw Sofia arrive that weekend. He only became aware of it because at the Sunday evening meal, he found that Sara had wandered over to the Slytherin table and just stood there, watching him. 

“You may sit with us,” Severus told her, uncaring what anyone thought of a Ravenclaw being at the Slytherin table. 

Timidly, she sat down at the empty seat to his left at the end of the table. 

“I take it you have spoken with your mother?” He asked her. 

She nodded, still having nothing to say to him. He wanted to ask her if she found the news favorable. He wanted to invite her to come on some outing or other with him next weekend but she looked so overwhelmed that he feared any such offer would only push her away. 

“I only learned the news myself a few days ago,” he told her. “As such, you are welcome to sit at Slytherin table any time you wish.” 

“Thank you,” She said, finally finding the courage to speak. 

***

Weeks went by and Sara slowly began to warm up to him. She was not a talkative girl. She was a studious one but not always in the ways that mattered. She studied the things that interested her, not necessarily what was assigned. She became a little more willing to converse with him but not at all an open book. He knew she probably never would be. She did at least sit at his table every breakfast and stop by his office on Saturday afternoons. She told him she wanted a quiet space to do her homework and he was more than willing to provide that space in his office in silence. She was making some small effort to spend time with him and so he made every effort to make sure to be available for her visits. 

He did notice however that Sara always seemed tired. Many times in his class she very nearly nodded off to sleep. Some afternoons in his office, she did sleep. He just let her sleep. He was concerned that she might have a health issue so he checked her admission records and found nothing in her health history to explain it. But she was Ravenclaw. Perhaps she simply stayed up too late at night reading. 

One afternoon six weeks into the school term Sara sat at a library table with two other Ravenclaw students while Potter and his gang gathered at another library corner. Severus has gone to the library himself to get an old potion book he remembered might be relevant to his advanced potions class. 

“Sara…”” one of her Ravenclaw friends scolded. “Wake up. We have to finish this project. You can’t sleep in the library.” 

Severus looked between the books on the shelves and caught sight of Sara lifting her head off the table. She had indeed been asleep. 

“Sorry,” Sara mumbled. 

“It’s bad enough trying to keep you awake in class. It’s really hard to pay attention to the lesson if I have to make sure you don’t fall asleep.” The Ravenclaw girl complained. 

“I really am sorry. You know I never sleep. It’s not my fault. The nightmares…” Sara said apologetically. 

“I know. I’ll shut up now.” the friend said sadly. 

Severus waited until Saturday afternoon when Sara came to his office to study. 

“You seem tired,” he told her, prompting to see if she would reveal the truth on her own. 

“I’m always tired.” She said as she settled at the small table in the corner of his office with her books and papers. 

“Does my class bore you? You fell asleep for a moment this morning. Almost every morning it happens.” 

Sara went still like a deer caught in headlights. “That’s not why I fall asleep in your class. I just don’t sleep very well. I have nightmares.” 

“What sort of nightmares?” 

“About my stepfather, Rory. He used to drink too much.” 

“Your mother mentioned something about that,” Severus indicated, hoping she would continue. 

“And well...sometimes he would get very angry. One time he threw me down the stairs. One time he locked me in a steamer trunk for the night. Sometimes he’d hit me and stuff…. I have dreams about it every night….” 

Severus found that this news made him angrier than anything he had heard in years. He had known that he was coming to care for Sara. He had been unaware that he cared for her so much that he would gladly kill anyone who harmed her, especially that Rory fellow now. 

“Every night?” he asked her, once he found his voice. 

“Yes. And truthfully I fall asleep in your class and in your office more than anywhere else. I feel safer there. I’m sorry..” she said, blushing. 

“You needn’t apologize. In fact, you may sleep in my class. I will help you complete the homework in the afternoon. Whatever sleep you can get will be useful in completing your other classes.” 

“People are going to wonder why you allow me to do that,” she pointed out. 

“Then we can either tell them why, or let them wonder.” 

“I don’t want everyone to know about my nightmares,” Sara told him. 

“They will not hear of it from me,” he assured her. 

“You’ll really let me sleep in your class? A whole hour?” she asked him, almost in disbelief. 

He nodded. “Indeed.” 

“Why?” she asked him, her eyes filling with tears. “Why would you let me do that?” 

“Because I can do nothing to take away your nightmares. I am powerless in that respect. I could give you a sleeping potion but they are not meant to be used every night. If I can offer you a chance to get some much needed rest, I will gladly give it.” 

“But why?” she asked, wiping away her unwanted tears. 

It didn’t take legilimancy for him to understand what she was getting at. There was something she wanted to hear from him, a truth that had been nagging at him for weeks. A truth that she needed to know. “Because you are my daughter and I care about your well being. Because I love you.” 

Sara let a sob escape her as she got out of her chair and crossed the room. She went around his desk and she threw her arms around him in an almost desperate hug. He hugged her in return and he allowed his legilimancy to reach into her mind. Sara was a very lonely girl. Her mother had been away at work for months on end and only came home for a week every six weeks. Her stepfather Rory had been drunk for much of that time and had frightened Sara into keeping his addiction secret. She had known very little love or affection in all her life and currently she lived primarily for her father’s approval. Severus realized in that moment while hugging her, that every kind word he gave her, every sign of approval, every measure he took to care for her, were the only things she wanted out of life. She was eleven years old and dealing with trauma. Of course she only wanted her father’s love. 

Severus moved a little in his chair and turned so that he could pull Sara to sit on his lap. She was a small girl and could easily curl up against him with her head under his chin. He held her close to himself while she sobbed uncontrollably. It was nearly a half an hour before her tears were spent and when her crying had ended she was limp with exhaustion, very nearly asleep. He was well aware that she wished to remain where she was and sleep in safety for just one night. 

And so Severus remained where he was and let her sleep for a good three hours. One of his legs fell asleep but he ignored it. He wasn’t able to grade any papers without letting go of her so he spent the time doing nothing at all. A noise of a student shouting in the hallway eventually woke her and she sat up just enough to look at the clock on the wall.

“It’s been three hours?” she said with amazement. 

“Indeed.” 

Sara smiled a little as she pulled free of his embrace and stood up. “I have to go help Gabby with an asisgnment. I promised her. That you for letting me sleep...Dad.” 

Severus nodded as he watched her go. The title was unfamiliar to his ears but he had to admit that he liked hearing it. 

***

The following week Snape found himself teaching in the great hall, a lesson combining the students of first, second and third years. Apparently the Ministry of education had decided that collaboration between grades would promote social skills among the children and required every class to do a group project each term. The children were broken up into groups of six and somehow Sara had ended up in a group with her friend Gabby, Malfoy and Crabb, and two third year Hufflepuffs. Before long Sara had fallen asleep at her table. 

Severus saw the moment that Crabb intended to awaken Sara by dropping a pile of goo on her face. Potter and Granger at the next table over saw it too. Severus wasn’t fast enough to stop Vincent but Hermoine was, levitating the goo in midair she dropped it to the floor with a loud splat instead of on Sara’s face. Granger glanced at her potions master, clearly worried that she would be punished for causing a disturbance or that Sara would be punished for sleeping. Severus returned Granger’s stare and turned away, ignoring the incident as if it hadn’t happened. 

Moments later Malfoy was making his own attempt at waking the sleeping Ravenclaw with a whiff of some sort of stinking potion. Severus slipped up behind him and took the potion from Draco’s hand. The entire room fell silent while they waited to see what the Potions Master would do next. 

“Do not. Wake her. Mr Malfoy,” Snape said firmly. 

Draco looked taken aback. No one had expected this, least of all Draco. “What?” he asked, unsure if he had heard correctly. 

“Do not. Wake her.” he repeated. 

“You’re saving her punishment for after class,” Draco said with a knowing grin. 

“Sara will not be punished,” Severus said and he took the stinking potion and walked away. He could feel the murmers of all the students around him. They didn’t understand why Sara was escaping punishment or why he had used her first name. 

Not ten minutes later, Vincent had a fit of clumsiness and spilled hot liquid all over Sara’s arm. She awoke with a start, with a scream really, not because the liquid was that hot. It was a reaction bourne of trauma. She took three steps back from the table and hugged herself, struggling to breathe, fighting back her panic. 

“I told you not to wake her!” Severus shouted at Vincent as he approached the lad. He very nearly reached Vincent when the sight of Sara, still caught in her moment of fear, stopped him. Severus went to her instead and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Sara?” 

Her name did not register when he said it. The entire room was on edge, having no idea what was going on. 

“Sara, you’re safe here,” he tried again. 

This time he reached her. She turned to look at him and then she threw her arms around him and hugged him. Severus hugged her in return, all but burying her in the wide sleeves of his robes. Every student in the room had stopped working. They had never seen their professor behave like this. Sara was sobbing against him and he knew she would not be willing to let go any time soon. “Continue your work. All of you.” he told the class snippily. 

They did as he asked but not without a murmer of confusion. It took Sara two or three minutes to get hold of herself but once she did, she left his embrace and returned to her group project. Vincent and Draco were extra nice to her after that. It seemed clear that she was a favorite of their beloved Potions Master. Neither of them understood why she was a favorite but they accepted it. They accepted it and they treated her as if she were their favorite little sister. 

When the class ended and the students began to disperse, Sara slipped in the goo that had been splatted on the floor earlier that day. Luckily Draco still stood near enough to catch her and keep her from falling. 

“Thank you Mr Malfoy,” Severus said as he went past the students to exit the class. 

“So what’s the deal?” Draco asked Sara once the professor had left. “Since when does a Lovegood or a Ravenclaw become so important to the Head of Slytherin?” 

“He’s...he’s my father,” Sara told Draco. 

Draco looked stunned. “Oh. That explains it.” 

“Not really,” Vincent chimed in. “It explains why he wouldn’t let us prank her but it doesn’t explain why he let her sleep. Teachers aren’t supposed to let any students be sleeping. It’s a rule.” 

“Since when do you know anything about rules?” Draco asked. “He let her sleep because he knew it would frighten her to wake up in a strange place. Something terrible probably happened once…” 

“Something terrible did happen….” she affirmed. 

“Well don’t worry. You’re safe with us too,” Draco said almost boastfully. 

“Honestly,” Hermoine Granger rolled her eyes behind them. “Are you really going to fall for that Sara? They tried to drop goo on your face while you were asleep.” 

“Stop trying to be the hero Granger. It was a harmless prank and we’ve been nice to her anyhow.” Draco argued. 

“Only because Snape wants you to and you’re trying to impress him,” Granger argued. “She’s not the princess of Slytherin. She’s a Ravenclaw and she’s a person with feelings. It’s not fair for you to use her-” 

“The princess of Slytherin,” Draco cut her off, annoyed. “Is exactly what she is. I don’t care if she is a Ravenclaw. Her father is the head of Slytherin. She sits at our table every breakfast. She is one of ours now. From now on, every single Slytherin will be nice to her and protect and treat her like royalty, because that’s what she is.” 

Hermoine just stared at him for a moment, her mouth half open. “You disgust me,” she said and she turned and walked away. 

***

Severus didn’t quite know how it had happened but he was aware within a week that the students of his house had taken to calling Sara, the princess of Slytherin. Not only that, but they escorted her to classes and they gave her gifts and they did not allow any sort of bullying or ill treatment from the students of other houses. At first the attention seemed to disturb her and make her uncomfortable. She soon grew accustomed to it though and learned to accept it with the grace of a true princess. 

“I need to speak with you Severus,” Dumbledor entered Snape’s office late one evening. “It’s about the matter of your daughter.” 

“What about her?” Severus found he was internally bristling. 

“The behavior of your house towards her can not continue. They are disturbing the flow of students walking from one class to the next with their processions to escort her. As Headmaster, I can tell them the practice must end, and I will. I just want to know why you have allowed it to continue for this long?” 

“Have you seen her smile when the Slytherin students lift her onto their shoulders and carry her to class?” 

Albus looked uncomfortable with the question. “Indeed I have.” 

“I did not enjoy such popularity in my youth. Sara has already had a difficult childhood. Playing this role brings a smile to her face. That is why I have allowed it to continue.” 

“Then perhaps the title she has been given is not so far from the truth,” Albus said thoughtfully. “She is indeed a princess in your eyes.” 

Albus moved to leave the office and Severus called after him. “Albus? I will assign four students to play the role of guard to her. The large processions will end but she will retain the title.” 

Albus huffed in annoyance. “Fair enough. I just hope this isn’t a mistake that will lead to her arrogance” 

“It won’t. Arrogance is not something she is capable of.” 

***

Sara sat in the library gazing at the muggle newspaper clipping. Rory O’Reilly was dead, found in his flat dead, and the cause was unknown. It had been six years since she had last seen him. It had been three months since he had featured in one of her nightmares. She was fifteen years old now, no longer a child, she didn’t understand why this news should effect her so strangely. She sat gazing at the news clipping and found that she was crying. She had no idea why. 

“Where are your guards today?” Harry Potter was standing next to her. She didn’t know where he had come from. “It must be strange without them.” 

“I sent them away. It’s not like I am a real princess or I need actual guards.” 

“I thought you liked the whole princess of Slytherin thing. You’re always smiling when they escort you to class.” 

Sara shrugged. “It’s only a game. I know it isn’t real. Everyone does.” 

“Someone told me that you hate me as much as your father does. Is that a game too?” 

“My feelings to you are neutral Harry. As for my father, I’m not sure he does hate you. He’s really not so bad, you know?” she said with a sniffle, as she brushed away a few more tears. 

“Are you alright?” Harry seemed to realize that she was crying. 

“I don’t know. I don’t know how to feel about this,” she passed him the newspaper clipping. 

He read the short obituary very quickly and his understanding registered when he reached the end and her name was listed as step-daughter. 

“I should have realized you had a step-father, since your name is Lovegood and not Snape. I’m sorry for your loss.” 

“Don’t be,” she shook her head. “He was a monster. He was a drunk with a temper and I was terrified of him. When I first came to Hogwarts the nightmares were so bad I could never sleep… my father allowed me to finally rest and to know what it was to be safe.” 

“This says your step-father’s cause of death was unknown. Do you think....?” 

“It could have been magic?” she finished the question for him. “I don’t know. My last nightmare was three months ago…” 

Harry looked at the date on the clipping. “This was three months ago.” 

“I know,” she sniffled. “But I don’t think he would…” Sara trailed off. 

“He’s very protective of you. We’ve all seen it,” Harry pointed out. 

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean he would murder someone!” 

“Maybe it wasn’t supposed to happen that way. Maybe he meant to confront him and it all went bad,” Harry suggested. 

“No, he wouldn’t do that,” she shook her head in denial. 

“Have you asked him?” 

Sara only stared at him, disbelief evident on her face. 

“Ask him. See what he says,” Harry prompted. 

“I’m not asking him that. I’m not going to accuse him of murder.” 

“Then we should go to Dublin where this happened and find out for ourselves.” 

“I’m not going to Dublin,” Sara argued. 

“Well, I am. Hermoine and Ron will go with me. I want proof one way or the other. You can come with us or stay.” 

“Fine. I’ll go with you,” she conceded, only because the Ravenclaw in her needed to know the truth.


	3. Chapter 3

It was supposed to be a quiet weekend. Sara would be going home to see her mother for the weekend and Severus planned to catch up on a few papers to grade, then he would attend to a repair at his house at Spinner’s End. The papers were nearly all graded when loud knocking began at his office door. 

“Enter,” he called out. The door opened and she stepped in. “Sofia?” He hadn’t seen her in years. They had made arrangements for Sara’s care by letter for years now. Severus was vaguely aware that Sofia had been avoiding him and he had never complained about that. He didn’t need to see her as long as Sara was taken care of properly. But seeing her now, she was obviously upset about something. She stood there tensely, with tears in her eyes, and he was reminded of the day she had cried in the alcove here at school over what Bellatrix had told her. “What has happened?” 

“Where is Sara?” she asked, some mixture of worry and anger. 

He was momentarily confused. “I was under the impression that she was with you at present.” 

“Well she isn’t. She let me know days ago that she had plans with her friends this weekend. I happened to be at Hogwarts anyhow to interview for a position and I thought I would drop off a gift for her. Her friend Gabby informed me that Sara went away for the weekend. Where is she?” 

Severus was taken aback. “I do not know.” he replied crisply. “Clearly she has not been truthful with either of us.” 

“Obviously,” Sara said, exasperated, hands on her hips. “But where is she?” 

Severus got to his feet and went around to the other side of the desk where Sofia stood, shaken and worried. “We will question her friends and we will find her.” 

“Gabby didn’t seem to know where Sara was. I didn’t see Alyssa anywhere. Who else would know?” 

“Gabby is her best friend. I can find out what she knows with the use of Legillimacy. Someone knows where Sara is. We will find her.” 

Sofia nodded as if trying to reassure herself. “You’re right. It’s too soon to panic.” 

“Walk with me to Ravenclaw tower,” he said, leading the way out of his office. “What position were you interviewing for?” 

“Ghoul Studies,” she told him as they walked. 

“I was unaware you had an interest in the subject, though I must admit, I know nothing of your current interests or even of your career since we were both Students,” he said, wondering if she would give further information or remain secretive. 

“Severus I...I work for MI6,” she said hesitantly, almost apologetically. “It’s an organization run by the British Government. Top Secret. A spy organization created for the protection of all-” 

“I am aware of MI6,” he cut her off. “My father was a muggle. I have even seen a few films featuring fictional spies. I did not take you for the type.” 

“Truthfully, I’m not. I don’t even go on spy missions, as they call them. I clean up problems that occur between the magic world and the muggle one. Mostly cursed objects, illegal magic, and ghosts.” 

He stopped and gave her a look. “Doesn’t the ministry already do that? Why MI6?” 

“They do, in situations when the muggles are unaware of the problem. The ministry takes preventative measures all the time. They clean up escaped magic wherever they can. But in other cases, cases that have drawn the attention of muggle secret services, well, that’s where I’m needed. My work saves lives. Or it used to.. Now, I just want to work at the school and be nearer to Sara. I’ve spent too long away.” Sofia continued their walk towards Ravenclaw tower. 

“Indeed,” Severus agreed. “I think she will appreciate your presence.” 

“I can hear the judgement in your tone, Sev. May I ask the reason for it? Is it plain old misogyny where you believe a woman’s place is at home with her children or an accusation because I failed to see Rory for what he was?” Sofia had never been afraid to speak her mind, even if she did so with an air of kindness. 

“Neither one,” he told her truthfully. “It is spoken from an awareness that Sara misses you. Nothing more. Perhaps the judgement you are hearing,is coming from your own guilt.” 

“So you don’t blame me?” she asked defensively. 

“For Rory? His failings are not your own. But for making your work more important that Sara, for that I did blame you once.” 

“And now?” Sofia asked him. He could hear the combination of worry and hurt in her tone. 

“That is why you have been avoiding me all these years,” he said as the realization dawned on him. “You believed I blamed you for Rory, for working too much.” 

Sofia brushed away an unwanted tear. “I wanted to see you Sev. I just didn’t think I could bear the disappointment.” 

Severus reached for her hand and pulled her into an alcove that they were in the midst of passing, an alcove that was exactly the same as the one he had first kissed her in all those years ago. “What I feel for you Sofia, is not disappointment.” His words sounded almost harsh but they were not meant harshly. 

Her breath hitched at his words and at the way he was looking at her. “After all these years?” 

Severus said nothing. Some part of him had always cared for Sofia. It was different than his love for Lily had been and it had taken him years to understand that not all love was the same. He reached out brushed away the tears still on her face, just as she had done for him once long ago. 

“We need to find our daughter,” he told her, and still holding her hand he pulled her from the alcove to continue their search. 

***

Sara was still unsure how she felt about Harry Potter, even after travelling with him for hours to reach Dublin. Ron was amusing. She liked him well enough. Hermione annoyed her sometimes and other times she was insightful. They had reached Dublin and headed for an address where the murder was said to have happened. The neighborhood looked ordinary and they used a spell to get into the empty flat. 

“There’s nothing here,” Hermione said with disappointment as they stepped into an empty flat devoid of furnishings or any possessions at all. 

“Well, I don’t know what you expected,” Ron pointed out unhelpfully. “They probably need to rent the flat out again as soon as they can.” 

“Can’t we do a charm to see what happened here?” Harry asked. 

“We can at least look for the use of magic,” Hermione agreed with a flick of her wand, she spoke the words of an unfamiliar spell. A blue misty powder appeared in the room and then faded away. “There you have it. Magic was used here. I’m sorry, Sara.” 

Sara glared at Hermione. “Just because magic was used here doesn’t mean my father did it.” 

“Who else could it be?” Harry asked. 

“I don’t know. I only know that you haven’t proven anything. We don’t even know what spell was used or why, we certainly can’t determine who cast it,” Sara argued. 

“No, but the ministry of magic can. We need to report this to the proper authorities.” Hermione insisted. 

“Go ahead,” Sara crossed her arms. “You won’t find what you’re looking for.” 

“Since we came all this way, shouldn’t we at least talk to the neighbors or something?” Ron suggested. “Maybe they saw something or heard something. After that we can get something to eat.” 

“We should,” Harry agreed. “Let me and Hermione talk to them Ron. I’m more used to muggles than you are.” 

Ron rolled his eyes. “This is going to take forever.” 

“I brought snacks,” Sara helpfully offered Ron something from out of her bag.


End file.
